Piano



Sept. 16, 1941. w. s. WATTS PIANO Filed Jan. 28, 1939 Patented Sept. 16, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PIANO London, England Application January 28, 1939, Serial N 0. 253,430 In Great Britain October 14, 1938 Claims.

This invention relates to upright pianos and has for its object to provide means for increas ing the volume or tone power of the piano.

According to this invention an upright piano is provided with one or more auxiliary sound reflecting panels, which is or are so arranged in front of the stringing as to deflect the sound waves upwardly so that when the top lid is opened the piano will sound as having greater power owing to the increase in intensity of the sound waves.

The auxiliary sound panel or panels are arranged between the main frame and the lower front board of the piano casing, to which they may be attached. The panelor panels is or are arranged at an angle to the front board so that the sound waves from the strings will be deflected in an upward direction.

A single panel of substantially the same depth as the lower front board will be found to give satisfactory results. It is preferred however to provide two auxiliary panels, a main panel arranged centrally of the strings and a second and lower panel, which is set at a greater angle or incline and serves to prevent sound escaping through the pedal openings. A third panel may be provided above the main panel and preferably this is arranged to prevent loss of sound in an upward direction past the keys. For this purpose it may be set at such an angle that it faces downwardly and conveniently it may be attached to the rail which extends across the back of the keyboard.

If desired the space extending between the auxiliary sound reflecting panel or panels and the front board may be filled in with the object of increasing the resonance and for this purpose the auxiliary sound panel may be constructed with hard wood fillets. End pieces may also be fitted to prevent sound waves from striking the sides of the case.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure l is a sectional elevation of an upright piano fitted with a supplementary sound board in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the sound board as seen from the interior or sound reflecting side.

Figures 3 and 4 are sectional views of a modified arrangement.

In Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing, A indicates generally the keys, and B the hammer mechanism of an upright piano. C is the key board cover, and D the underside thereof. G is the lower front board of the piano casing, while part of the main frame is shown at E, F representing the stringing carried thereby, while 1-! indicates the main sound board.

In an upright piano there is a certain amount of loss of tone due to the loss of sound through the pedal openings and beneath the lower front board G.

When an increase in the sound volume of the piano is required it is usual to raise the front lid and it has now been found, according to this invention, that by providing an additional sound board in front of the stringing that a considerable improvement in the tone power of the piano can be secured even when the lid is closed.

As shown in Figure 1 the auxiliary sound board may be constituted by two panels I and 2 arranged in front of the stringing and between the latter and the lower front board G of the casing. The main auxiliary panel I is arranged centrally of the stringing and is inclined to the vertical so as to reflect the sound waves in an upward direction. The sound panel 2 is arranged at a greater angle to the vertical than the panel I and intercepts those waves which otherwise would pass to the bottom of the piano casing. As clearly seen in Figure 2 the auxiliary sound board panels I and 2 may be constructed integrally with the front board G and preferably they are enclosed at their ends by end panels 3 and at the top by a panel 4 also set at an incline to the front board, the top panel 4 serving to prevent loss of sound in an upward direction past the keys.

In order further to increase the resonance, the sound panels I, 2, 3, 4 may be built in by edge pieces 5 and 6.

It will be observed that the top panel 4 terminates immediately below the rear edge of the key board D and the entire unit shown in Figure 2 is so arranged as to be capable of being withdrawn to give access to the strings,

Referring now to Figure 3, there is shown a modification comprising three inclined panels I, 8 and 9 each arranged at the same angle to the front board.

In Figure 4 only one sound panel IE3 is employed.

In both the Figure 3 and 4 arrangements the top panel 4' is provided to prevent loss of sound past the keys.

What I claim is:

1. An auxiliary sound board for use with a piano frame comprising an angularly disposed sound-reflecting panel disposable in front of the piano strings to deflect sound waves upwardly, and end panels, each flaring with respect tothe first mentioned panel away from the operative surface of the latter at the marginal edges of said operative surface, and built-in edge pieces at the edges of the first mentioned panel.

2. In an upright piano of the class which includes a main frame, strings carried thereby, and a vertical main sound board at the rear of the strings; auxiliary sound board means disposed at the front of the strings and comprising a main auxiliary panel extending across the strings from a level above the bottoms of the strings to a level below the tops of the strings and being inclined upwardly and outwardly away from the strings, and a lower panel extending across the strings and being inclined from the bottom edge of said main auxiliary panel downwardly and inwardly toward said strings, said lower panel having a greater inclination to the vertical than said main auxiliary panel.

3. In an upright piano of the class including a main frame, strings carried thereby, a vertical main sound board at the rear of the strings, and a key board; auxiliary sound board means disposed at the front of the strings and comprising a main auxiliary panel extending across the strings and being inclined upwardly and outwardly away from said strings and terminating below said key board, and an upper auxiliary panel extending across said strings and being inclined upwardly from the top edge of said main auxiliary panel and inwardly toward said strings.

4. In an upright piano of the class including a main frame, strings carried thereby, a vertical main sound board at the rear of the strings, and a key board; auxiliary sound board means disposed at the front of the strings and comprising a main auxiliary panel extending across the strings and being inclined upwardly and outwardly away from said strings and terminating below said key board, an upper auxiliary panel extending across said strings and being inclined upwardly from the top edge of said main auxiliary panel and inwardly toward said strings, and a lower auxiliary panel extending across the strings and being inclined from the bottom edge of said main auxiliary panel downwardly and inwardly toward said strings, said lower panel having a greater inclination to the vertical than said main auxiliary panel.

5. In an upright piano of the class including a main frame, strings carried thereby, a vertical main sound board at the rear of the strings, and a key board; auxiliary sound board means disposed at the front of the strings and comprising a main auxiliary panel extending across the strings and being inclined upwardly and outwardly away from said strings and terminating below said key board, and an upper auxiliary panel extending across said strings and being inclined upwardly from the top edge of said main auxiliary panel and inwardly toward said strings, said upper auxiliary panel terminating at its upper edge below said key board.

WILLIAM SHEPHERD WATTS. 

